LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — If you've driven down Alexandria Drive or Whitney Avenue, you may have come across a little red house.
The Little Red Blessing Food Box, started by Cynthia Buckner, allows anyone and everyone to have something to put on their plate.
"It's a box where you can come get what you need," Buckner said. "If you want to leave food you can. If you don't have it to leave, if you wanna bring some back later on. But it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Buckner started the food exchange in 2020 during the pandemic when she saw people struggling to eat.
"And I was kind of struggling a little bit. I'd seen one person had some boxes in front of her house and I wanted one like that. But they didn't have that kind they only had metal boxes," Buckner said.
From then on, she placed little red boxes in different areas across Lexington. Each one is dedicated in memory of someone special — like the daughter of Lena Forbes, LaTonya "Boo" Forbes, to whom box number 7 is dedicated.
"It means a lot. I didn't know that this would be something that would happen. But my daughter was always helping others. She loved to cook. She loved to fix hair. She was a beautician for about 20 years. She kept me up," Forbes said.
Teresa Forbes-Lopez, sister of the woman known as "Boo," described her sister's giving spirit.
"She was always doing something for everybody, no matter what. She always said 'hey baby' or something to you. If you needed something she got it for you. If you needed to eat she had a plate for you. There wasn't nothing she wouldn't go out of her way to do. It could be her last dime, and she'd make sure you had it," Forbes-Lopez said.
The color red isn't just an aesthetic choice — it carries deep meaning for Buckner.
"No red is good. Red is the blood that we shed that Jesus shed on the cross for our sins. So you know I'm just really glad that we was able to continue doing his work like that," Buckner said.
For Buckner, the boxes represent a lifelong calling.
"It means the world to me. Is that like I always said, I've been kind of like a mother hen type person all my life. From a little girl ground up. My mama's like that too. She's very giving. So I'm just role modeling what my mom has done in front of me. So I want to keep continuing doing the same thing not just for my children, but for anybody else," Buckner said.
The box locations are:
#1 Alexandria Drive
#2 St. Martin Village
#3 Nicholasville
#4 Whitney Avenue
#5 Paris
#6 Armstrong Mill Road
#7 Colfax Street
#8 Cynthiana
Buckner is in the process of getting boxes nine and 10 in their designated locations.
If you'd like a box on your street, or in front of your house, you can contact Buckner at (859) 492-9872 or email her at littleredblessingfoodbox@yahoo.com.
